After all, the quartet of York High, Red Lion, Dallastown and Central York dominated attention in Division I last season. Those four programs were the favorites again entering this fall.

But five teams are currently tied for first place in Division I. The four schools previously mentioned and the under-the-radar Bobcats.

All of a sudden, people are paying attention to the team in Manchester.

"I like being the underdog," junior quarterback Zech Sanderson said. "When you're at the top, everyone's trying to put pressure on you. We want to surprise everyone. Like, 'Hey, we're still in this.'

We're not going away."

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Northeastern quarterback Zech Sanderson carries the ball against York Suburban in the first half of a YAIAA football game Friday, Sept. 28, 2017, at Northeastern. Northeastern defeated York Suburban 35-0 in its first home game of the 2017 season.(Photo11: Chris Dunn, York Daily Record)

Though the Bobcats (4-3) feel confident after winning four of their last five, they don't face an easy schedule the rest of the season. Their next two games are home contests against Central York (6-1) and York High (6-1) before closing against New Oxford on the road.

Currently ranked 11th in the 14-team playoff tournament in District 3 Class 5A, Northeastern probably can't afford to lose two more games and still make the postseason.

The Bobcats aren't thinking about that though. Or whether people think they can pull off upsets against two dynamic offenses these next few games.

"I'm sure we're not expected to beat Central this week, and that's OK," Northeastern head coach Jon Scepanski said. "Our team is used to that. You can play the game of 'They beat them, so this team should beat them,' but it's a Friday night and anything can happen."

The Bobcats have already proven capable of pulling off a major upset this season. Two weeks ago, they beat Red Lion — the only team to beat Central and York High — 23-16 at home.

They've also shown they can overcome adversity. After getting off to hot starts the past few seasons, Northeastern started 0-2 with losses to Solanco (38-13) and Carlisle (10-6) this season.

Though the Bobcats rebounded the next few weeks, they lost senior running back Frank Brown and sophomore receiver Kaden Hamilton to season-ending injuries. But with Sanderson and a crop of young skill players progressing behind an experienced offensive line, Northeastern has averaged 28 points the last five weeks.

"It's been a while since we've been 0-2. None of them had been through that," Scepanski said. "We had to look at it and realize we beat ourselves to some extent. We had to fix the little things. Do we still make mistakes now? Sure, but we can limit them."

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Northeastern's Kelvin Brown, from left, head coach Jon Scepanski and Stephen Gundy pose for a photo during YAIAA football media day in Hanover on Thursday, August 2, 2018.(Photo11: Ty Lohr, York Daily Record)

Two players who've emerged for Northeastern in recent weeks are junior receiver/return man Jordan Lagana and sophomore running back Manny Capo. Lagana has more than 650 all-purpose yards this season while Capo has rushed for over 100 yards the past two weeks.

"I was supposed to fill Taemar's shoes, and that's nerve-racking but I'm doing the best that I can," Lagana said. "As a utility guy, I get the ball everywhere and just try to make whatever I can happen."

Added Scepanski: "We knew Jordan was a good football player, we were just waiting for that breakthrough moment with him. He's gotten more confident in our system and he's playing well.

"Manny is a mature player for a young guy, and he's handling the workload pretty well."

This week, the Bobcats are tasked with slowing down Central York's high-powered passing attack led by York County's all-time leading passer in Cade Pribula.

Scepanski is hoping the team can use the confidence it gained against Red Lion when facing the Panthers.

"The main focus is stopping that passing attack, but their running game isn't bad either," Scepanski said. "They have a lot of playmakers. If we can meet our weekly goals, we'll be all right."

The Hanover student section watches during the second half of a football game between Hanover and Littlestown, Friday, Oct. 5, 2018, at the Sheppard-Meyers field in Hanover. The Littlestown Bolts defeated the Hanover Nighthawks 42-3. Harrison Jones, For The Evening Sun

Littlestown's Dustyn Barker (84) intercepts a Hanover pass in the Littlestown end zone in the last seconds of the half during a football game between Hanover and Littlestown, Friday, Oct. 5, 2018, at the Sheppard-Meyers field in Hanover. Harrison Jones, For The Evening Sun